Boy Scouts of America files bankruptcy in wake of abuse lawsuits
Tom Hals
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America said on Tuesday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid a flood of lawsuits over allegations of child sexual abuse stretching back decades.
The bankruptcy is not expected to affect the organization’s programs, which promote self-reliance through outdoor activities such as hiking and camping. The group was already struggling with declining membership and controversy over admitting gay and female members.
The Boy Scouts, based in Irving, Texas, has said that it sincerely apologizes to anyone harmed, that it believes the accusers and that it encourages victims to come forward.
Founded in 1910, the organization has been overwhelmed by hundreds of claims after several states, including New York, removed legal hurdles that had barred people from suing over old allegations of child sex abuse.
The changes to the law coincided with the #MeToo movement and a shift in public opinion that has been more supportive of accusers. The result has been a wave of lawsuits against church leaders, doctors and schools, as well as scouting.
The Boy Scouts has said in a statement that “we can live up to our social and moral responsibility to fairly compensate victims” while “also ensuring that we carry out our mission to serve youth, families and local communities through our programs.”
Paul Mones, who represents hundreds of men who claim they were abused as scouts, told Reuters: “The bankruptcy is being filed as a result of decades of concealing abuse by the Boy Scouts and their adult leaders.”
The bankruptcy, filed in Delaware, will allow the Boy Scouts to bring all of the lawsuits into one court and try to negotiate a settlement, rather than using the organization’s funds to fight each case in court, which might leave some victims with nothing.
A similar bankruptcy strategy to resolve sex abuse lawsuits has been used by more than 20 Catholic dioceses and USA Gymnastics.
It could, however, be challenging to determine the value of the Boy Scouts’ assets. The national organization said in its most recent annual report from 2018 that it had $1.5 billion. But hundreds of local councils have their own assets, and victims may try to make those available for settling claims.
Membership in the organization’s Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts fell 13% at the end of 2018 from the end of 2012, according to its annual report.
The Boy Scouts lost a major source of support when the Mormon church said it would no longer sponsor scouting troops, beginning in 2020. The move by the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came shortly after the Boy Scouts said it would drop “boy” from its program for older youths and after saying it would admit transgender scouts.
The church said its decision was not influenced by the Boy Scouts’ changes, but by a desire to focus on its own youth programs.
Boy Scouts files for bankruptcy to put sex-abuse lawsuits on hold
Century-old American organisation seeks protection in hopes of working out a victim compensation plan.
The number of boys taking part in the Boy Scouts of America has dropped below two million [LM Otero/AP]
The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday following hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits in hopes of working out a victim compensation plan that will allow the 110-year-old organisation to carry on.
Scores of lawyers in the United States are seeking settlements on behalf of several thousand men who say they were molested as scouts by scoutmasters or other leaders decades ago, but are only now eligible to sue because of recent changes in their states' statute-of-limitations laws.
More:
US Boy Scouts scandal: Over 12,000 children sexually abused
By going to bankruptcy court, the Scouts can put those lawsuits on hold for now.
But ultimately they could be forced to sell off some of their vast property holdings, including campgrounds and hiking trails, to raise money for a compensation fund that could surpass $1bn.
"There are a lot of very angry, resentful men out there who will not allow the Boy Scouts to get away without saying what all their assets are," said lawyer Paul Mones, who represents numerous clients suing the group. "They want no stone unturned."
James Kretschmer of Houston, among the many men suing for alleged abuse, said he was molested by a Scout leader over several months in the mid-1970s in the Spokane, Washington, area.
Regarding the bankruptcy, he said: "It is a shame because at its core and what it was supposed to be, the Boy Scouts is a beautiful organisation.
"But you know, anything can be corrupted and if they're not going to protect the people that they've entrusted with the children, then shut it down and move on."
Evan Roberts, a spokesman for the Scouts, said operations will move forward as normal despite the bankruptcy announcement.
"Scouting programmes will continue throughout this process and for many years to come," he said.
Declining membership
The Boy Scouts' finances have been strained in recent years by declining membership and sex-abuse settlements.
The number of youths taking part in scouting has dropped below two million, down from more than four million in the peak years of the 1970s.
Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have kept confidential files since the 1920s listing staff and volunteers implicated in sexual abuse, for the avowed purpose of keeping predators away from youth.
According to a court deposition, the files as of January listed 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims.
Last year the organisation insisted it never knowingly allowed a sexual predator to work with young boys.
But in May, The Associated Press reported attorneys for abuse victims identified multiple cases in which known sex abusers were allowed to return to leadership posts.
The next day, Boy Scouts chief executive Mike Surbaugh wrote to a congressional committee, acknowledging the group's previous claim was untrue.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday following hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits in hopes of working out a victim compensation plan that will allow the 110-year-old organisation to carry on.
Scores of lawyers in the United States are seeking settlements on behalf of several thousand men who say they were molested as scouts by scoutmasters or other leaders decades ago, but are only now eligible to sue because of recent changes in their states' statute-of-limitations laws.
More:
US Boy Scouts scandal: Over 12,000 children sexually abused
By going to bankruptcy court, the Scouts can put those lawsuits on hold for now.
But ultimately they could be forced to sell off some of their vast property holdings, including campgrounds and hiking trails, to raise money for a compensation fund that could surpass $1bn.
"There are a lot of very angry, resentful men out there who will not allow the Boy Scouts to get away without saying what all their assets are," said lawyer Paul Mones, who represents numerous clients suing the group. "They want no stone unturned."
James Kretschmer of Houston, among the many men suing for alleged abuse, said he was molested by a Scout leader over several months in the mid-1970s in the Spokane, Washington, area.
Regarding the bankruptcy, he said: "It is a shame because at its core and what it was supposed to be, the Boy Scouts is a beautiful organisation.
"But you know, anything can be corrupted and if they're not going to protect the people that they've entrusted with the children, then shut it down and move on."
Evan Roberts, a spokesman for the Scouts, said operations will move forward as normal despite the bankruptcy announcement.
"Scouting programmes will continue throughout this process and for many years to come," he said.
Declining membership
The Boy Scouts' finances have been strained in recent years by declining membership and sex-abuse settlements.
The number of youths taking part in scouting has dropped below two million, down from more than four million in the peak years of the 1970s.
Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have kept confidential files since the 1920s listing staff and volunteers implicated in sexual abuse, for the avowed purpose of keeping predators away from youth.
According to a court deposition, the files as of January listed 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims.
Last year the organisation insisted it never knowingly allowed a sexual predator to work with young boys.
But in May, The Associated Press reported attorneys for abuse victims identified multiple cases in which known sex abusers were allowed to return to leadership posts.
The next day, Boy Scouts chief executive Mike Surbaugh wrote to a congressional committee, acknowledging the group's previous claim was untrue.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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